Jon's Ego (in print form!)

Improv Nonsense: How Do I Get More Involved?

improvnonsense:

People ask me that consistently. They’re talking about the UCB Theatre though I would imagine it could apply to any improv/comedy community.

For UCB, I don’t know what to tell them. I started watching shows at UCB in August 1998, took a class in November 1999 and then never left. It’s not an…

Growing up, a cooler kid in my grade lived around a culdesac from me. He would have huge parties that I wasn’t told about. I could hear them through my bedroom window and I’d lie there, picking apart the voices and laughter I could recognize (“Oh, that’s Emily…that’s Tom…etc”).

Ever since then (or perhaps starting even earlier), I’ve had an intense fear of being left out. I would say it’s probably one of my strongest drives.

I still spend tons of time scrolling through Instagram thinking “Well, I didn’t get invited to that,” “I’m not in that show,” “Didn’t get told about that event.” I could probably win a “World’s Most Popular and Respected Person” award and literally be carrying around a trophy while wearing a sash, and I’ll still feel like everyone in the world is doing cool stuff they’re not telling me about.

I’ve basically just accepted that that’s how I’ll always be and, at the very least, it inspires me to write stuff.